‘Biggest Loser’ local contestant: ‘You just have to get up and do it’

Jeff Nichols has struggled with his weight for as long as he can remember.

The 24-year-old has tried nearly every diet out there, but nothing worked.

“For a few years, my sister had been asking me to go to a casting call for (“The Biggest Loser”) and since I never watched, I would always decline,” he said in an e-mail interview. “Finally I took the time to watch Season 13 and realized these are normal people who are getting the chance to change their lives, and if it can happen to them, then why not try and do the same for myself.”

After attending a casting call in Detroit, the pharmaceutical representative was selected for the NBC show’s upcoming season.

The two-part season premiere will take place from 9 to 11 p.m. Sunday and 8 to 10 p.m. Monday on local channels 4 (WDIV, Detroit) and 24 (WNWO, Toledo).

The Monroe resident will compete against 14 adults for a chance to lose weight and win money. Three children will participants in the show, but will not compete.

The son of Elizabeth Nichols-Bitleris and the late Jethro Nichols, Mr. Nichols graduated from Monroe High School in 2005.

Growing up, he was always active playing hockey, soccer, baseball and golf, he said.

“Even though I had asthma, I never really let that slow me down,” he said. “It was my weight that was more of a setback.”

At a young age, Mr. Nichols was put on steroid medication to help fight asthma, which triggered weight gain. His father’s death in February, 2005, also factored into the additional pounds, but, Mr. Nichols ultimately attributes his weight to a sedentary lifestyle.

“When you mix in eating burritos at 2 a.m. in college with little to no exercise and working a desk job, it’s pretty easy to get yourself to 388 pounds,” he said.

He had to leave his job in order to participate in the show, but he said he couldn’t “pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Because of his size, Mr. Nichols felt like he was missing out on life, which is why he decided to audition for the show.

“I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing for far too long because of my weight,” he said. “Doing it on a national level is still something I’m getting used to.”

Once he watched the show, he was inspired to lose weight and hopes to help others in the process.

“I think mostly I knew I was inspired by others from the show and if I can even inspire just one person to make a change, then that means I’m doing something right,” he said.

Mr. Nichols said that prior to the show’s filming, he didn’t have a diet plan or a workout regime.

“I ate what I wanted when I wanted and barely got off my couch,” he admitted. “Things couldn’t be more different now.”

On the show, his daily routine is focused on exercise and eating a “very lean” diet that “cuts out all of the nonsense and processed foods.”

Mr. Nichols said he did not set a goal weight when the show started filming.

“I just want to be happy and healthy and know that I did my best,” he said.

The young man admits his future looked dim before joining the show. “I didn’t see great things in my future because my thoughts were always overshadowed by the sadness I had inside about my weight,” he said. “Now, I look to the future and the possibilities are endless.”

Emotional rebuilding has been the hardest part of his journey thus far.

“There are reasons each one of us are on the show and it isn’t just because we liked the way food tastes and ate too much of it,” he said. “Facing those demons that drove me to the dark place I was in and confronting them has been the most difficult.”

Though he cannot reveal how much weight he has lost or where he finished in the contest, Mr. Nichols said he was looking forward to riding amusement park rides and skydiving among other activities.

“I look forward to doing the most once the weight is gone,” he said. “… just being able to live my life in the moment and not worry about the size restrictions and weight limits.”

Making small changes can make a big difference when it comes to accomplishing weight loss goals, Mr. Nichols said.

“Get moving and make the small changes,” he said. “No one should expect the numbers we see on a weekly basis, we are being trained by professionals and our full-time job every week is to work out without any stress of the real world.”

His motto, which he passes onto others is, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got,” he said.

“So start doing something different,” Mr. Nichols said.

For residents who plan to watch Mr. Nichols’ journey, he said he hopes people might realize they could be successful in their weight-loss plans, too.

“You’re never too old, too out of shape, or too busy,” he said. “Anyone can start living a healthier life. You have to get up and do it today and not put it off until tomorrow, because for me, tomorrow was always the day that never came.”

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